[act-ma] Oct. 11-13, 2019: HONK! Fest momentum begins w/25+ Bands, Kickstarter Countdown, & Volunteer Recruiting

[Mary C. Curtin]

HONK! FESTIVAL
14TH ANNUAL

FESTIVAL OF
ACTIVIST STREET BANDS
THIS YEAR TOTALING 25+

New to this year's HONK! are
three out of towners, plus
a newly formed local youth band.

October 11 through 13, 2019

a wide variety of musical /
activist events planned in
Somerville, Cambridge, Boston

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL


(Somerville, MA) The very first  <http://honkfest.org/> HONK! Festival,
Somerville-based and fourteen years strong, has always been clear on its
most basic premise, to literally blast out, musically loud and rhythmically
clear, a call to come together. To gather outside in celebrating the many
positive aspects of life - while also delivering a heads up if those
positives take a negative turn.

HONK! is dedicated to keeping tabs on these transitions, be it locally or
globally, with the shifts now coming at a rapid rate. In HONK!'s mind, the
best way to stay grounded is to take a stand, get out there with musical
instruments in hand, or just clap those hands, and carry on in peace with a
beat and a dance step or two. That activist philosophy has certainly caught
on, with HONK!s now popping up throughout the world. At last count,
twenty-one HONK! Festivals.

In that spirit of solidarity, this year HONK! has invited, among all the
bands participating, four new bands to join in the festivities, three of
which are coming from afar, and one from right in our own backyard:

 <http://honkfest.org/bands/die-bolschewistische-kurkapelle-schwarz-rot/>
Bolschewistische Kurkapelle Schwarz-Rot: formed in East Berlin in 1986, the
band sees themselves as "the vanguard of a revolutionary orchestral
movement," spreading their political statement in "the form of music to
educate the mind as well as to shake the booty."
<http://www.bolschewistischekurkapelle.org/> bolschewistischekurkapelle.org

 <http://honkfest.org/bands/clamor-lace-noise-brigade/> Clamor & Lace Noise
Brigade: based in Chicago, the band strives to bring music, written and/or
performed by people identifying as women or non-binary, to the forefront of
their city's music scene. Established in 2018, Clamor & Lace is open to
musicians and performers of all skill levels, and all members are encouraged
to bring their own arrangements and/or original songs to the band. The band
is committed to its progressive values and frequently performs in support of
them.  <http://clamorandlace.com/> clamorandlace.com

 <http://honkfest.org/bands/fanfarra-feminina-sagrada-profana/> Fanfarra
Feminina Sagrada Profana: making their debut in 2017 in the streets of Belo
Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil), the band is focused on performing music
created by women composers and performers, or performing compositions that
honor and exalt women, while also combining that with rhythms derived from
their own popular culture. The band's aim is to give voice to women by way
of music and art, and to raise awareness of women's continuous struggles for
gender equality and emancipation.
<http://www.facebook.com/fanfarrasagradaprofana>
facebook.com/fanfarrasagradaprofana

 <http://honkfest.org/bands/summer-street-brass-band/> Summer Street Brass
Band: formed last year and comprised of local youth, the band performs
popular jazz, funk, and latin tunes in a variety of Boston-area settings,
from ceremonial gatherings to community and other social events. The band
enjoys a joke and a laugh, but when it comes down to playing "we take it
seriously."  <https://www.summerstreetbrassband.org/>
summerstreetbrassband.org

This year's HONK! includes all the features that have compelled many to
return year after year:
-- on HONK! Friday early evening, Lantern Parades throughout Davis Square
neighborhoods;
-- on HONK! Saturday afternoon to evening, continuous HONK! band
performances held in Davis Square;
-- on HONK! Sunday early afternoon, the venerable HONK! Parade down
Massachusetts Avenue from Davis Square to Harvard Square, in order to
"Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet." The Parade will include
this year's participating bands plus many activist community groups.
Interested community groups are welcome to contact
<mailto:parade at honkfest.org> parade at honkfest.org if they'd like to
participate in the parade;
-- on HONK! Sunday afternoon, the Parade will be followed by a HONK!
mainstage featuring quick sets performed by many of the participating bands.
The Parade will also be followed by an opportunity to participate in several
new "sharing" workshops, a departure from what has been part of the regular
Sunday schedule;
-- on HONK! Sunday early evening, a collective HONK! call-to-action, by
visiting musicians and bands, that will take place outside the immigration
detention center in Boston, to raise awareness about those who are being
detained there, and to remind the detainees with music, that they have not
been forgotten by many in the outside world.

There are also several new or newly re-visited HONK! initiatives, such as:
-- an All HONK! Band Revue to be held on HONK! Friday evening in Union
Square's Bow Market;
-- a HONK! Pick-up Band, back by popular demand, this year called HOOT, for
those music makers who are not affiliated with any bands performing at this
year's HONK! Or are, and can also somehow manage to dive into this as well.
The "interest form" can be found at:
<https://tinyurl.com/HOOTPickUpBand2019>
https://tinyurl.com/HOOTPickUpBand2019;
-- new workshops to be held on HONK! Sunday afternoon, soon after the Parade
arrives in Harvard Square: a series of "Skill Sharing" workshops and a
massive "Song Sharing" workshop. These gatherings will be led by members of
participating bands, and the public is welcome to join in as well.

This year the HONK! bands total 25 at current count, featuring many
returning bands who have participated pretty regularly in HONK! since it was
formed in 2006 by the Somerville-based Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure
Society Brass Band, who this year will be joined by: aNova Brazil (Boston,
MA), Band Land Brass Band (Cambridge, MA),
<http://honkfest.org/bands/die-bolschewistische-kurkapelle-schwarz-rot/>
Bolschewistische Kurkapelle Schwarz-Rot (Berlin, Germany), The Brass Balagan
(Burlington, VT), Brass Queens (NYC, NY), Bread and Puppet Circus Band
(Glover, VT),  <http://honkfest.org/bands/clamor-lace-noise-brigade/> Clamor
& Lace Noise Brigade (Chicago, IL), Dirty Water Brass Band (Boston, MA),
Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band (Somerville, MA), Environmental
Encroachment (Chicago, IL), Expandable Brass Band (Northampton, MA),
Extraordinary Rendition Band (Providence, RI), Fanfarra Feminina Sagrada
Profana (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil), Forward! Marching Band
(Madison, WI), Hungry March Band (Brooklyn, NY), Leftist Marching Band
(Portsmouth, NH), The Party Band (Lowell, MA), Plezi Rara (Brooklyn, NY),
Rara Bel Poze (Boston, MA), Rude Mechanical Orchestra (NYC, NY), School of
HONK (Somerville, MA), Summer Street Brass Band (Boston, MA), What Cheer?
Brigade (Providence, RI), and Young Fellaz Brass Band (New Orleans, LA).
Further background information on each band can be found at
<http://honkfest.org/2019-festival/bands-2019/>
honkfest.org/2019-festival/bands-2019/.

HONK! is a non-profit, with a very limited budget. The annual Kickstarter
fundraiser is now in full swing:  <http://www.honkfest.org/kickstarter>
www.honkfest.org/kickstarter, with a deadline of September 27th to reach its
goal of $17,000. No donation is too small, or too large! Visit
<http://honkfest.org/help/> honkfest.org/help for more information on
tax-deductible donations.

HONK! is also an all-volunteer organization, where many hands lighten the
impressive list of festival to-dos. All who are interested in experiencing
the strong sense of camaraderie that HONK! generates, can email
<mailto:volunteer at honkfest.org> volunteer at honkfest.org plus
<mailto:housing at honkfest.org> housing at honkfest.org. Visit
<http://honkfest.org/help/> honkfest.org/help for more information on
volunteer opportunities.

For complete information and continuous updates on the HONK! Festival, visit
<http://www.honkfest.org/> www.honkfest.org,
<https://www.facebook.com/honkfestival/> www.facebook.com/honkfestival, and
<https://twitter.com/honkfest> www.twitter.com/honkfest.

Basic information:
HONK! Festival
Festival of activist street bands.
October 11-13, 2019
Various neighborhoods throughout Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston.
Rain or shine; free and open to all.
For further information:  <http://www.honkfest.org/> www.honkfest.org,
<mailto:info at honkfest.org> info at honkfest.org, 617-383-HONK (4665).

 

--submitted by marycurtinproductions [on behalf of the HONK! Festival]
c/o Mary Curtin
PO Box 290703, Charlestown, MA 02129
617-470-5867 (cell),  <mailto:mary.c.curtin at gmail.com>
mary.c.curtin at gmail.com
"dedicated to staging insightful entertainment, particularly in
non-traditional venues"
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